How to change your company name – small business checklist

When you change your business name, there’s a lot to work through, and sometimes it’s the tiny details we tend to forget. Things like voicemail because when do we ever to listen to our own voicemail, greeting?

Renaming your UK Limited Company is cheap and easy; a few clicks on Companies House, pay the £8.00 fee, and in a couple of days, it’s done. You have renamed your business.

Afterwards comes the harder part; updating everything.

If you’re about to change your company name, this checklist may come in handy.

Data Protection

Directory listings

Update your listing with Google and Yell, Chambers of Commerce and any other memberships the business has.

Domain name

Before you change your company name, it’s a good idea to check the domain name you want is available too. You don’t want to change the name only to find out the domain name is taken.

Once your domain is set up, you can begin work on your website. This can be done in advance of notifying your customers and while you’re sorting everything else out. It’s a great opportunity to do a content audit and update pages.

Email

Redirect your previous email to your new email account. It may help to add something to your email signature block to remind people about the changes.

Insurance

Do you have business insurance for public liability or professional indemnity? Get in touch with your broker or policy provider to get a revised certificate

Linked in Company Page

If you have a company page, Linked In will only accept minor changes to your business name. Where there’s a major name change, you may have to delete the page and create a new one. Linked In considers a minimal name change to be less than five continuous characters of your current business name.